1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of apparatus to be used in conjunction with a baby's bassinet in order to convert the bassinet from a stationary object which can only be rolled from one place to another into a rocking apparatus which can be used to assist in rocking the baby to sleep while the baby is in the bassinet. The present invention further relates to the field of rocking apparatus which can be used to convert a stationary object into one which can be rocked from either head to toe or side to side.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, apparatus which can be used to convert a stationary object such as a baby carriage into a rocking object have been known in the prior art. The following six patents are illustrative of the known prior art in this field:
A. U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,877 issued to Cooper on Dec. 1, 1964 for "Supporting Rocker Frame".
B. U.S. Pat. No. 1,135,266 issued to Desper on Apr. 13, 1915 for "Attachment For Perambulators".
C. U.S. Pat. No. 1,069,196 issued to Smith on Aug. 5, 1913 for "Device For Rocking Children's Cradles".
D. Danish Pat. No. 33,328 issued to Jensen in 1924.
E. U.S. Pat. No. 524,151 issued to Walker on Aug. 7, 1894 for "Rocker Attachment for Baby Carriages".
F. French Pat. No. 777,134 issued to Flandrin in 1934.
French Pat. No. 777,134 to Flandren illustrates a child's carriage which possesses an attachment transforming it into a rocker as depicted in FIG. 4. It appears that the device contains an apparatus by which the carriage can be rolled, but at the same time the wheels are capable of being rotated up off the ground so that the rocking mechanism number 4 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 is able to rock the carriage. This device is in essence only a baby carriage with a mechanism by which the wheels can be rotated above the ground so that a secondary rocking structure can touch the ground and be used to rock the baby carriage.
Danish Pat. No. 33,328 illustrates a cradle support for a child's cart body. It appears that the mechanism is a large rocking frame into which the child's cart body is placed. The cart body is supported within the rocking frame by the upper edges of the cart body such that the lower portion on which the baby rests is suspended in the air. This appears to be a cumbersome device and one which can only accommodate what is essentially a large basket without wheels.
U.S. Pat. No. 524,151 to Walker discloses a rocker attachment which is capable of converting a baby carriage into a rocker. Essentially the idea is to have the wheels of the baby carriage fall into the four slots designated as B (see FIG. 3) and thereafter be locked in placed. In this way, the baby carriage can be converted into a rocker. With a shallow frame and small rocker compared to the baby carriage, it appears that this device is extremely unstable and the baby carriage could easily tip over.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,069,196 to Smith discloses a complex apparatus wherein a child's crib can be mounted on a rocking apparatus through a spring attachment. The height of the rocker off the ground and the springs appear to make this device extremely unstable.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,877 to Cooper discloses a supporting rocker frame. The apparatus discloses a frame for receiving a removable basket like bed portion of a baby carriage. While this device might be operable with a simple bassinet, one problem is that the bassinet fits well within the rocking apparatus such that the bassinet is adjacent the ground and the sidewalls rest well within the frame. Today's flowery bassinets have extensive cloth with frills surrounding the bassinet and such a device could not fit well within the rocking apparatus disclosed in the Cooper patent. In addition, today's modern bassinets are elevated above the ground and are attached to a base which further comprises folding wheels. Such a device could not fit within the frame of the Cooper patent.
Therefore, while the general concept of a device for converting a baby carriage or a bassinet into a rocker has been discovered in the prior art, none of the prior art devices are functional with a modern bassinet which comprises a basket set on a base and having elongated folding legs and further comprises a fancy cloth covering and head covering with many frills. A significant need exists for such an apparatus which is capable of converting a modern baby's bassinet into a rocker.